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Donald Trump has ignited controversy by revealing that charities set to receive donations raised when he skipped a Republican debate were asked to turn over documents relating to their taxes, despite the fact that he has refused to disclose his own tax documents.

Mr Trump was holding a press conference in New York to address the fact that his claims of millions in donations to veterans organisations had not been supported by hard evidence.

Rumblings about the donations had been growing ever since Mr Trump skipped a Republican debate in January to hold a fundraiser, which he said raised over $6 million (£4.1 million) for former members of the US military.

Mr Trump lambasted the media during Tuesday's event for a series of reports claiming that only a fraction of the money he had pledged was actually donated, going so far as to point to one reporter and call him "a total sleaze".

That has become a primary point of attack for his opponents, who note that every major party nominee for 40 years has released at least some tax filings, and suggest that the self-proclaimed billionaire must have something to hide.

One of the primary insinuations of Mr Trump's opponents is that his tax filings will show that his claims of generosity are not backed up by charitable giving.

He says he is subject to an ongoing audit by the IRS, and therefore cannot release the returns, though tax experts say he could make them public if he so chose.

Mr Trump said on Tuesday that while the veterans groups were asked to submit letters from the IRS, tax returns were not reviewed during the vetting process.

"The government sort of approves groups for a lot of reasons," he said. "More than anything else its talking to other vets, we have a circle of veterans, and I don't want to send a $250,000 check to a group that doesn't do good work."

The press conference quickly devolved into a standoff between Mr Trump and the media. He repeatedly questioned the integrity of the assembled reporters, and pledged to continue his combative approach as president.

"I'm going to continue to attack the press," he said. "I find the political press to be unbelievably dishonest."